The Mentalist – My Bloody Valentine

While stranded in the woods and on the run with the only witness (Kristy Wu) to a murder Grace (Amanda Righetti) starts having hallucinations of O’Laughlin (Eric Winter). With neither the man power nor the knowledge of the terrain the CBI has no choice but to let local authorities hunt for their agent while they attempt to solve the murder.

The victim is the son of an ailing mob boss (Joaquim de Almeida) and first in line to take over the operation after his father dies. To help sniff out the killer Jane (Simon Baker) pulls deep inside his bag of tricks to kill the mob boss (okay, no really) in hopes that the man (Matt Battaglia) after control of the empire will seize the opportunity to attempt to do just that.

Given the trauma she suffered in the car wreck and straining to deal with a probable concussion, and the closing of the O’Laughlin shooting, the episode covers its bases on the reasoning behind Grace’s hallucinations. Whatever their real cause, by the end of the episode they appear to have a positive effect on Grace who may finally be able to move on.

It’s not a true B-story, but there is a thread that runs throughout the episode as Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) worries about Van Pelt’s safety. At first I thought this was the beginning of a wedge to drive Risby and Sarah (Jillian Bach) apart, but I have to hand it to the show for throwing in a last minute curveball I didn’t see coming.